RFI CORRESPONDENT DISCUSSES GUINEAN MUTINY AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000292 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/PD SLISENBY E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/13/2018 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR OIIP KPAO XA GV SUBJECT: RFI CORRESPONDENT DISCUSSES GUINEAN MUTINY AND CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP Classified By: AMBASSADOR PHILLIP CARTER III FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On June 9 PAO met the Radio France International (RFI) correspondent Mouctar Bah over breakfast to talk about some of the recent events in Guinea. Bah talked about the ongoing mutiny and rumors that the Joint Chief of Staff is implicated. He gave his opinion regarding the appointment of Ahmed Souare, the new Prime Minister, and the sacking of former Prime Minister Kouyate. He said that he received threats from Kouyate supporters, including Kouyate,s wife, when he criticized the former PM in one of his reports. He also discussed the difficulties he has had as an RFI reporter in a country that has a tenuous history with France. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Regarding the mutiny by soldiers at Camp Alpha Yaya, Bah was surprised when members of the elite Presidential Guard, known popularly as the Red Berets, told him they thought the Joint Chief of Staff, General Diarra Camara, was in league with the mutineers. The guards told Bah that on the day of the confrontation between the mutineers and the Red Berets at the Castro Bridge, Diarra instructed the chief of operations of the Red Berets to let the mutineers pass. The Red Berets backed off and the mutineers were able to enter the city without resistance. Reportedly Diarra said that if there is a coup, ECOWAS will intervene to put it down. The guards took this to mean that Diarra was in favor of a coup. When President Conte heard of Diarra's actions, he reportedly deployed three hundred more Red Berets across Kaloum and the Castro Bridge. Mouctar Bah said that Diarra Camara is very close to Lansana Kouyate and they see each other on a regular basis. ¶3. (C) Comment: General Diarra Camara,s appointment as the Chief of Defense was initiated by Kouyate early in 2007 as a response to the appointment of General Baillo Diallo (long time Conte supporter) as the Minister of Defense, a fact that lends some credence to Bah,s claim that Camara is involved in the mutiny. Throughout the course of this mutiny, there have been reports that General Camara maintained contact with soldiers who he considered as still loyal to the regime. The reports were that he was using this bloc to try and gauge mutiny leader Claude Pivi,s (aka Coplan) attitudes towards reconciliation, and to cause a split along ethnic lines among the mutineers. The country team received confirmation of the stand-off on the bridge, but follow-on reporting indicated that access was granted in order to conduct negotiations at the Ministry of Defense, and the additional troops that were deployed were a result of reinforcements arriving from Kindia, which had been requested by the Chief of Defense on Wednesday morning. End Comment. ¶4. (SBU) As for the appointment of Souare as Prime Minister, Mouctar Bah said that he was the "least bad" of all the options. Bah does not personally know Souare, but believes he was installed by the "old boys" of the Conte regime who are Souare,s own friends. Bah says he will likely keep some of Kouyate,s people, but the "old boys" will want to be involved in the selection of a new government. Bah says he has spoken to Souare and the PM told him the President has given him the green light to choose who he wants for his cabinet. Bah thinks the PM could announce his cabinet as early as June 10. ¶5. (SBU) Bah says that after Kouyate was sacked he received numerous harassing phone calls from Kouyate's wife. After the sacking, Bah reported the circumstances and the reasons for his dismissal, according to the point of view of the average Guinean. His report highlighted people's frustration at Kouyate's inability to live up to expectations to provide water and electricity, and the diminishing purchasing power of the Guinean people. He reported on Kouyate's battle with the presidential clan and Kouyate's political ambitions. Mrs. Kouyate called him the same day and asked why he had reported the story the way he did. She made several harassing phone calls and one day an unknown caller reportedly told him that he was going to be shut down; the person added: &we are Kouyate,s clan8. ¶6. (SBU) Bah said that he used to be harassed by the President's allies until he told them that they had to do a better job of giving their side of the story. Bah told them that the President and his team need to keep the people better informed. Bah said that until 2005 he did not feel safe, especially as an RFI stringer. He said that one reason was because RFI is so closely associated with France, and CONAKRY 00000292 002 OF 002 France in general represents a source of fear and apprehension in Guinea. According to Bah, the presidential entourage worries more about what RFI reports than other news organizations, including local news outlets. He has had better relations with the Presidency in recent years and they now inform him when events are going to happen. ¶7. (SBU) Comment: Mouctar Bah has been a correspondent for RFI in Guinea since 1996. He has been a good, credible source for the Embassy and enjoys a solid reputation among his fellow journalists. His reporting on Guinea is frequently aired on RFI. He is well connected with the various political factions in Guinea and PAO calls on Bah whenever there is a crisis or political turmoil to find out what he is hearing. End comment. CARTER